Category: Business & Markets

The Federal Reserve said the pace of growth continues to be “modest to moderate” in its latest snapshot of the economy known as the Beige Book. The report covers late November to Jan. 8. Most districts reported “on-going labor market tightness and challenges finding qualified workers across skills and sectors,” the report said. The lack

Initial U.S. jobless claims tumbled by 41,000 to 220,000 in mid-January, marking the biggest one-week decline since 2009. The number of new claims also touched the lowest level since February 1973. Economists had forecast claims to total 250,000 in the seven days ended Jan. 13. The level of claims gives a rough idea of how

Construction on new houses fell 8.2% in December to a 1.19 million annual rate. Economists polled by MarketWatch has forecast housing starts to total 1.28 million. Single-family starts dropped 11.8%, but construction on buildings with five or more units rose 2.6%. Permits for future construction were basically flat at 1.30 million. Still, 2017 was a

Industrial production rose 0.9% in December for the fourth straight monthly increase, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday. The gain was above Wall Street expectations of a 0.6% increase. For the fourth quarter, production jumped at an 8.2% annual rate, after a 1.3% drop in the prior quarter caused by hurricane damage. For the calander year,

Tax cuts, rising inflation, a weaker US dollar, strong economic growth…these are all reasons for the markets’ strong rally right now. While you’d have to think nearly all of these positives are priced in, the market just keeps marching higher. Prices have recently gone vertical. That’s not sustainable. I’d therefore expect a decent correction to

Solid inflation data on Friday sparked anxiety that the bounce in consumer prices would strengthen the Federal Reserve’s resolve to tighten monetary policy at a more aggressive pace. Those fears sent prices for short-dated debt tumbling and yields higher. The 2-year note yield rose 4.2 basis points to 2.014%, its highest level since September 2008

The unemployment rate in the U.S. is on its way to below 4 percent, a level that Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan believes is an “overshoot” of full employment and a potential danger sign for the economy. Consequently, he thinks the central ought to keep raising rates, at least three times this year, as a

The consumer price index rose 0.1% in December, with four-fifths of the increase tied to the highest cost of housing. The increase matched the forecast. If gas and food are stripped out, the so-called core rate of inflation rose a much sharper 0.3%, a notch above the forecast and the highest reading in almost a

Sales at U.S. retailers rose 0.4% in December to mark the fourth straight gain. The increase was a notch below the forecast of 0.5%, but sales for November and October were both revised higher. Excluding autos and gasoline, retail sales also rose 0.4% last month. The consumer price index, meanwhile, rose 0.1% in December, with